[game_edu] Mutual respect - WAS: loopy Proposal - The Aggies!

[Mark Baldwin]

Darius,

 

I think you will always find a variety of education preferences about in any
industry.

 

I'm know my hiring preferences are different than the next industry
individual, although I don't think I'm out of the main stream in what I'm
looking for.   Personally, I look for breadth of education, especially
across the right brain and left.   For example, if the individuals major was
computer science, I want to see plenty of humanities in his curriculum.
When I look at his portfolio, not only am I looking at his computer skills,
I want to see what his communication (*important*) and creative skills are
as well.   Even in the technical area, I want to see breadth.  

 

Normally I will find more breadth in traditional universities, but not
always.   Sometimes the techie schools specializing in game development do a
better job than the traditional universities.

 

Again, when I'm running a development house, what comes out of the house
MUST entertain.   If the individual is just a techie with no understanding
of the creative, his value just is not there, no matter how great his techie
skills.   

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

******************************************

 Mark Lewis Baldwin

 Associate Professor

 Game Design and Development

 University of Advancing Technology

 303-526-9169

  <mailto:mbaldwin at uat.edu> mbaldwin at uat.edu

  <http://baldwinconsulting.org/> http://baldwinconsulting.org

 mar80401 (YIM, AIM, Skype)

******************************************

 

 

 

 

From: game_edu-bounces at igda.org [mailto:game_edu-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf
Of Darius Kazemi
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 9:49 AM
To: IGDA Game Education Listserv
Subject: Re: [game_edu] Mutual respect - WAS: loopy Proposal - The Aggies!

 

That's a good point, Mark. Academia in particular bears the brunt of the
whole C.P. Snow "two cultures" issue, and that distinction doesn't really
exist in the game industry.

I think part of the issue with industry respect might be that no two
professional game developers I've worked with, or for, have had the same
list of qualities they'd like to see a college student graduate with. While
I personally might have tons of respect for School A and think that School B
probably graduates sub-par students, there are other developers for whom
those perceptions are entirely reversed. 

For example, here in Boston, many of the game companies are biased in favor
of graduates who come from traditional universities and often traditional
degree programs. This is because many of the game companies here were
founded by graduates of MIT, Harvard, BU, WPI, etc. So naturally we
gravitate toward people with a background we can identify with and can
quantify in some way through our own experience. I've found the opposite
prejudice in other areas of the country, where many of the companies were
founded by "garage" programmers. 

-Darius

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